What they become
by avatarquake
Summary: 'He barely made it inside the temple, before the walls closed.' AU take of the episode.


What they become

 **Summary:** He barely made it inside the temple, before the walls closed.  
 **A/N:** An AU take on S2 E10, where Coulson is the one who enters the temple with Daisy.

* * *

He barely made it inside the temple, before the walls closed.

"What are you doing here?" Skye asked, scared.

"I had to make it right." Coulson replies.

"You can barely move, _Coulson_ , _why_?"

"You...I didn't want you to be alone, Skye." he cupped her face. "I couldn't leave you."

Neither noticed the Obelisk opening or cared that Raina was there with them, listening.

They noticed the crystals and the mist.

Suddenly, a rocky substance started to cover both Raina and Skye.

"No, no, no, Skye!" Coulson called, coming up to her, trying to stop it.

"Coulson." she choked.

"I...I..." he stuttered. "What do I do?"

And then she was covered completely.

Coulson sank to his knees, in front of Skye, tears falling silently from his eyes. He lost her again and this seemed final. At least, he'll follow her, in a few days. He's locked inside this place, after all.

It's just a question of how; explosion and drowning or starvation or oxygen deprivation.

And then something falls.

Coulson doesn't dare look up, doesn't dare hope.

More flakes fall and the ground starts to shake. Coulson is standing up, staring in awe as Skye slowly emerges from the rock and then explodes out of it, pieces hitting him as they fly by.

And then everything calms down.

One of the walls collapsed from the quake and Coulson catches Skye as she stumbles.

"Skye." he sighs, holding her close.

"Wha. Coulson."

"You're alive." he sighed in her hair. "I thought I lost you. Oh God, I thought I lost you forever."

"Skye! Coulson!" Trip came in, Mack close behind. "Oh, thank goodness, you're both ok."

"Trip? Mack..." Skye seemed a little confused.

"Hey." Mack nodded. "Uh, who's that?"

They all turned to look at the other person in the room.

"Raina?" Coulson frowned.

"Why does everything hurt? What is wrong with me?"

"I need you to calm down." Coulson said, calmly. "We'll figure this out, ok? We can help."

"No one can help me!" Raina screamed and bolted.

"Raina, stop!" Skye shouted.

"Shouldn't we go after her?" Trip asked.

Coulson shook his head.

"Not now. She'll turn up, eventually. She won't be causing trouble for a while, though." he said.

"How can you be so sure?" Mack asked him, frowning.

"Whatever these crystals did," he said, pointing to the dark, fractured crystals on the dais, "changed her and now she's in pain. She's in shock and she has to understand who she is again."

He looks at Skye, one hand lightly holding her arm.

"Lets get out of here." Trip said.

"Yeah." Skye nodded, still starring at what was left of the Obelisk.

"Skye?" Caoulson called her softly.

She leaned on him, then pulled away, as she remembered he, too, was injured.

"Shit! I'm sorry." she mumbled.

Coulson wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. He burried his face in her hair.

"Never appologise for needing comfort." he whispered. "I am always here for you, if you need me."

"You two should pick up the pace. I want to reset the explosives." Trip said from in front of them.

"Flood it?" Coulson suggested.

"Yeah, I can do that. It'll be quicker, too." Trip nodded.

Soon they were all four of them out of the city. As they explained what went down, Trip prepared the explosives.

Once the city flooded, they made sure to cover both openings to it, theirs and HYDRA's. Skye was place in quarantine, to determine if anything had happened to her in the city, while Coulson sat outside, waiting for her.

"Coulson?"

"Yes?" he looked up, from his almost dozing off.

"That earthquake? When we were in the city?"

"What about it?" he sat up.

"I think it was me, Coulson." Skye said scared.

Coulson leaned towards the glass and placed his hand against it.

"We'll figure this out together."

"What if we can't."

"We will." he said, pressing against the glass. "No matter what, I'll be by your side. Help in any way I can." he promised.

"Coulson..."

"You told me once that we were in the dark, but at least we were in the dark together. We're in the dark with this, now. But we are still together."

Skye nodded.

She layed her hand on the glass, against his.

"Thank you." she told him, quietly.

"Anytime."

She smiled a little and he smiled back.

"You should go and rest." she told him.

"Don't want to leave you." he replied.

"Phil." she used his first name.

He smiled softly at her.

"I'll go after you sleep. It'll be easier if I know you're resting, too." he said.

"Sorry I scared you."

"Not your fault." he shook his head.

"Still."

"No. You were scared, too. I am sorry I didn't know what to do to stop the rock covering you."

"I don't think anyone could."

"We didn't know then. And my lack of knowledge..." he shook his head. "I'm so glad you are okay."

"Me, too."

They smiled at each other, their hands against each other, on the glass.


End file.
